I grew up with parents that paid attention to the news on what could be done to live a more eco-friendly life, and made changes when they were aware of them. We tried not to buy too much food to avoid food waste, reused grocery bags, went to the farmer's market when the weather was nice, bought some organic products once we were aware of them. We tried to reduce and reuse, although recycling was always hit or miss. We had a split of new and used things. We were raised to repair things that broke and could be easily fixed: sewing buttons on, putting a screw in a wobbly chair, etc.
That said, we bought plenty of new items, drove regularly, didn't eat exclusively organic or belong to a co-op (all of which are still true). Until recently, I don't think any of us knew about low-VOC paint, and we generally use places like Craiglist or thrift shops to get rid of things, not to find them. We fly (internationally) more than the average family too. In terms of an intentional change to be more eco-friendly, this is really the first concerted effort I've made.
Both of my parents are receptive to changes: my dad uses a bike as his main mode of transportation whenever possible and gardens with (mostly) native plants; my mom shops at the farmer's market and makes her own eco-friendly countertop cleaner. My sister is much more enthusiastic and informed about this than I could claim to be: she has been very interested and invested in being eco-friendly for a long time (and has been a great source of ideas so far). My husband is generally interested but not at the front of this change: his main concern is that we make sure the bathroom soap is the foaming kind (that was also his biggest concern when we moved in together).
Is your family receptive to an eco-makeover?
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